Mixed Bag 8 - Mixbo Baggins There and Back Again

The close of this week has seen a lot of little projects getting moved off my desk. Not as many as I'd like, but there is some movement which is nice. First up is Ixion Hale, an exclusive sculpt by Forge World available only at Warhammer World or certain conventions. I picked him up when I was in Nottingham last April - kind of on a whim - and he's a nice addition to my Heresy Era stuff.

Ixion doesn't have any special rules, so I'll end up using him as
a Praetorian with a power axe or some such thing. 

I've also got it in my head to put together some kind of siege scenario for 40k, so I've been picking up some of the Wall of Martyrs kits when and where I can. I finished off the Vengence Batteries and two sets of trench sections this week. These were pretty fun kits - not a lot of assembly and quick to paint. I undercoated the batteries in Retributor spray, gave it wash of Reikland Flesh shade and then dry brushed the metal with Auric Gold and a final dusting of Runefang Steel. Then it was a matter of painting in the grey panels and dark metals and some weathering.

Beeeeg Badda Boom.

I just built them as battle cannons - probably because I didn't relish the
idea of the gatling cannons being used on my Orks.

I really think these models are just cool. It doesn't matter to me that
they are covered in skulls and skeletons - that actually adds to
the coolness for me for some reason.

The trench sections were undercoated in Rustoleum Weathered Bronze (which is a dead ringer for Leadbelcher) and then the dead Cadians were blocked in, washed and highlighted. The gold plates were handled exactly like the gold on the Vengence Batteries. These really didn't take too much time and I try to remember to keep a sort of visual hierarchy in my painting - soldiers and tanks get the most love, scenery can be a little duller and less detailed and finally the board should be reasonably plain. This helps everything separate out as you view it, and makes for things being easily identifiable.

"Duck behind that golden shield, soldier! No-one will see us there!"

I added grime and rust to the interior sections just keep them a little more interesting. What I really want to know is:
Do the Cadians just throw their dead over the walls between battles? Or do they not get the idea that the wall
needs to be BETWEEN them and the attacker to be worthwhile? Deep questions.

Next on deck is The Emporer's Aquila Action Playset. I hope it comes with a special kind of Cobra Viper inside. I am
unreasonably excited to paint this thing.

Last Sunday I also helped run a game of Muskets & Tomahawks for some friends - a couple of which were new to the rules. The scenery and a bunch of the models were done by my buddy Ron, supplemented by some of my French and Indian troops. We worked together running six players through an action packed game. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and I think we may have convinced some new players to collect their own forces at some point.

Even if the players had a miserable tim, who cares? Just look at that scenery! Ron does some quality stuff.

British cavalry attempting to run some Canadian Militia. The British objective was to massacre civilians. 

One of the British flanks was almost entirely First Peoples. The guys in blue were painted by yours truly.

A Provincial Militia exchanged heavy fire with British Regulars in the center.

The British kept up a steady stream of fire, but it wasn't enough to dislodge the Colonists.

At one point, a special event occurred and the Indian force had to contend with a savage bear attack. This gave the
battle the name of "The Battle of Bear Swamp". In the end, the Colonials managed to save their civilians and repel the
better equipped Red Coats and their allies. 

It was really nice to spend a weekend playing games that didn't have robots or lasers in them. I'm still mulling over putting together a Roman force, but I'm not sure what game system I'm going to use at the moment.

-Cheers!

Muskets & Tomahawks, Oh My!

This past weekend; I got to play a big multiplayer game of Muskets & Tomahawks, a set of rules that cover the North American portion of the Seven Years War (or the French and Indian War as we Yanks call it) by Studio Tomahawk - the first game by makers of the popular Dark Age game SAGA. Muskets & Tomahawks has become one of my favorite games in the last couple years and I try to play it any chance I get, which is kinda funny because I remember when my friends were talking me into playing it I wasn't super excited.

My two units of French Regulars and their Officer in the center

Three units of Huron Native American Allies and their war-chief

And finally, some Canadian fur trappers act as a militia to bolster my forces.

I grew up in the North Eastern United States. Places like Valley Forge, Jockey Hollow, and Bunker Hill were regular field trips as a child. "Last of the Mohicans" was practically required reading in my household. While I had a reasonable knowledge of the time period, I just didn't have much of an interest in wargaming it. I was more interested in later or earlier periods, usually taking place on the opposite side of the world. I guess my familiarity with the Colonial period of American history just bred some contempt for it. Thankfully, I bend pretty easily to peer-pressure when it comes to trying out skirmish level games (30 or so models a side) and I decided to give it a try.

My French column advances towards a small village in this game. It is also the first time I made a mat made from
teddy bear fur.

Muskets & Tomahawks uses a card-driven unit activation system which also creates the turn order of the game. Each player contributes a number of cards to a shared deck depending on the types of units they are bringing to the battle. During a turn, the deck is shuffled and then each card is turned over in order. Each card allows a certain number of actions to be taken by a specific type of unit per player. Once all cards have been run through, the turn is over and the deck reshuffled. The system provides a lot of command and control "friction", and players have to come up with general battle plans that they need to adjust as events unfold. The system also ties into army building, as taking a less diverse force means contributing less cards to the deck and this adds an interesting dimension to the game.

My buddy Ron has a fantastic array of scenery for the game.

The other place the game really shines is in its support of narrative-style play. Each side randomly determines its mission and the game ends when one side achieves its objective. Additionally, every player receives a side-plot which acts as a second objective in the game and achieving this can turn a loss into a tie or minor victory into a major one. There is enough variety in these missions and side-plots to really keep the game fresh. I can honestly say that I have yet to play two games of Muskets & Tomahawks that have felt the same.

British Rangers advance through a field to be a pain in the rear.

Like I said, its become one of my favorite games to play and it goes to show that you've got little to lose by trying out a set of rules that you may not be interested in on the surface.

Cheers!